How to build an efficient medical practice with Mobius Clinic

I sat down with Dr. Mark Casillas to discuss how he uses Mobius Clinic as an orthopedic surgeon in San Antonio. This is the first of three posts that tell the story of how a suite of software applications helped one physician build an efficient medical practice centered around exceptional patient care.

Using Mobius Clinic to build a more efficient medical practice

Many doctors are frustrated with electronic medical records, feeling they now spend more time on the computer than with patients. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Physicians willing to adopt and grow with new technology are finding innovative ways to streamline their EMR workflow and build an efficient medical practice without the headaches.

For Dr. Casillas, the secret to loving his EMR is Mobius Clinic, the office-proven app that eliminates up to 70% of keyboarding and computer distraction from every patient visit. Mobius turns the phone in your pocket into a remote control for your EMR.

Let’s look at how Dr. Casillas uses Mobius Clinic to easily connect with his EMR at each phase of a patient visit.

Patient Intake

When Dr. Casillas enters the exam room he has no trouble initially distinguishing a new patient from their two accompanying family members. This isn’t because the patient’s ailment – a persistently painful ankle – is visibly obvious. Rather, Dr. Casillas saw their photo on the screen of his iPhone, where he was reviewing their record before walking in.

“I first interact with patients through Mobius Clinic,” Dr. Casillas explains. “Mobius tells me when my staff have checked the patient in to a particular room, and I can already see their vital signs, which were automatically added to the EHR.”

Using the location of Dr. Casillas’ smartphone, Mobius Clinic avoids confusion by automatically loading the record of the patient checked in to that particular room.

“Mobius Clinic allows practitioners to get from their electronic health record what they wanted in the first place. The bottom line is it allows me to spend more time with the patient and be more efficient in the office.”

During An Exam

The patient at hand has already seen two different orthopedic surgeons and a pediatrist. She had a previous surgery and comes carrying films from earlier exams. This patient waited six weeks for this appointment and she’s hoping to finally resolve her ankle pain.

“I try to let the patient talk first, and once that first update is given I start by taking pictures,” Dr. Casillas explains.

After an initial conversation, Dr. Casillas asks the patient to remove their shoes and socks, and he uses his iPhone to take several pictures of their foot and ankle. “These photos go directly into the EHR and are not stored on my phone,” he tells the patient, explaining how image documentation adds a level of detail to their medical record.

Dr. Casillas is taking pictures using Mobius Capture, a desktop and mobile application that seamlessly integrates images into a patient’s medical record. Capture allows Dr. Casillas to document patient ailments with his iPhone’s camera during visits. But it’s also a convenient way to save selected images from the hundreds of cuts often locked up in a PACS. This patient’s films are a perfect example. Using Mobius Capture, Dr. Casillas can review hundreds of slides and quickly store only the important images directly to the EHR.

During Documentation

After the initial conversation and photos, Dr. Casillas does something remarkable. He uses Mobius Scribe to dictate the patient’s medical history directly into the EMR – in real time. This isn’t just convenient, it’s also engaging.

“I like dictating the history, physical exam and my plan in front of the patient, because I can pause and ask them, ‘Is there anything I should have added or emphasized?’ They like to hear that I can dictate everything, and for me it’s a matter of convenience that it’s all documented in the moment.”

Using Mobius Scribe to dictate notes produces a triple benefit for Dr. Casillas:

He saves time and improves accuracy by not repeating this process from memory after the patient visit.

The patient plays a more active role in their care by participating directly in the documentation process.

Mobius Clinic makes the physician’s note immediately viewable by the rest of the medical team, which can streamline clinical workflow.

As the visit wraps up, Dr. Casillas knows his next step is to order both a new CT and MRI to better understand the patient’s ankle deformity. Instead of leaving the exam room to pass along this information to his team, Dr. Casillas just dictates the note into the EMR using his smartphone. Dr. Casillas’ team receives these notes as actionable tasks on their own Mobius Clinic apps, so they are ready to move forward.

“My staff are already working on authorizations while I’m still talking to the patient,” he explains.

Efficiency with every visit

By using Mobius Clinic from the beginning to the end of his work day, Dr. Casillas can streamline his team’s workflow and focus on what matters: providing excellent, thorough and carefully documented care for his patients. As he puts it, “Mobius Clinic allows practitioners to get from their electronic health record what they wanted in the first place. The bottom line is it allows me to spend more time with the patient and be more efficient in the office.”